Boston Ballet presents a dreamy ‘Nutcracker’

Sunday

Nov 26, 2017 at 6:24 PMNov 26, 2017 at 6:31 PM

By Iris Fanger/For The Patriot Ledger

The nights before Christmas get dark too early, but there are plenty of bright lights glowing in the theaters where multiple Nutcrackers, characters named Scrooge, and festively costumed children will be singing and dancing throughout December.

Our holiday season kicked off this past weekend with the Boston Ballet’s sumptuous, annual production of “The Nutcracker” at Boston Opera House. On Saturday night, the house was packed with parents holding the hands of their excited little girls, some of them clutching dolls who were brought to see the show. There were small boys present, ready to laugh at Fritz (Trey Stout of Swampscott) and the antics of his friends at the Silberhaus party of Act I.

But according to Mikko Nissinen, artistic director of the Boston Ballet and choreographer for this version of the 19th century ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in Russia more than 100 years ago, the evening belongs to Fritz’s older sister, Clara, about to have the adventure of her lifetime.

At Saturday night’s performance, a confident and letter-perfect Sarah Connolly from Boston, as Clara appeared first on stage when the orchestra played the opening notes of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s whimsical score. She looked straight out to the audience as if to declare, “This is my story,” and walked off, leaving behind the street urchins who were gathered to watch the mysterious toy-maker in his workshop. Elise Beauchemin of Londonderry, N.H., and Ani Kassian-Howard of Belmont will alternate in the role of Clara.

As Drosselmeier, principal dancer, Paulo Arrais, is younger than expected, friendlier, less frightening, and endowed with a sense of humor. He might be Clara’s beloved uncle rather than the usual magician-family friend with dubious intentions. The gifts he has made include several of the characters we will see – a floppy, White Rabbit, the beloved Dancing Bear (a Boston original, first introduced years ago as a holiday symbol by Filene’s of blessed memory), the fearsome Mouse King, and, of course, the Nutcracker.

Clara will leave home on Christmas Eve, when the walls of Robert Perdziola’s marvelously inventive set open out to the birch-trees and snowfall of a winter forest, and travel to the Palace of Sweets where the Sugar Plum Fairy reigns. Clara encounters three grown-up women who teach her lessons she must learn to become an adult: the Snow Queen (Lia Cirio), the Dew Drop Fairy (Misa Kuranaga), and Sugar Plum Fairy (Seo Hye Han). These principal dancers will alternate in the roles at other performances, occasionally making way for a less senior member of the company to try dancing the leads. The company will perform "The Nutcracker" more than 40 times before New Year's.

Seo Hye Han was a wonder of flowing movement, with port de bras (the manner of carrying her arms and gestures) that entwine in space to embrace it, along with a gracious welcome to the young girl. Junxiong Zhao transformed from a soldier-doll into a well-mannered Nutcracker, ready to lead the Act I battle scene before taking Clara out across the skies aboard a flying cloud. When they arrived for Act II, he became the Cavalier to the Sugar Plum Fairy. His landings from his high jumps in his solos in the demanding pas de deux were quiet and secure; his rapid, linked turns around the stage equally impressive, along with Seo Hye Han’s multiple pirouettes. Other dancers to be mentioned include Desean Taber, supported by Graham Johns and Matthew Slattery, as the bouncing-ball Russians.

“The Nutcracker,” especially in the Boston Ballet’s production with live music by the Boston Ballet orchestra, conducted by Beatrice Affron at the performance I saw, makes a fine introduction to the theater for children, not least for watching their peers on stage. Even though the thought of leaving home might be scary, Clara returns safely to her drawing room at the end, left with memories of the creatures she has met and the sparkling crown she was given by the Sugar Plum Fairy.